Payout Review: Blood In The Cage by L. Jon Wertheim
January 12, 2009
L. Jon Wertheim is a writer for Sports Illustrated on a myriad of topics but is somewhat new to the MMA space, indicating in the forward that the genesis of this book was the feature article he did for the UFC SI cover story, dating to early in 2007. It is from that beginning Blood In The Cage flourished. The bulk of the book centers around the fighting and coaching career of Pat Miletich, with his story making up probably two thirds of the book.
The hard scrabble narrative of Miletich’s life and his ensuing journey into MMA is played to just enough effect and is balanced out by the other far reaching points that the book illustrates. As the Miletich story unfolds, Werthheim does a good job of weaving in the progression of the UFC and other important elements of the sport. While Miletich is the centerpiece of the book, he is often a stepping off point to telling the stories of others. For example, Miletich attending a Renzo Gracie seminar gives entree to an elaboration on the Gracie family and their importance. The author is at his best when using his journalistic chops to guide the reader through the various travails of the UFC during its’ early years. With the plethora of new fans ushered in with the TUF concept, a book like this caters well to this group as opposed to others that veer towards a more hardcore crowd. Wertheim does a serviceable but still quite readable job of hitting the sign posts on the road to current day MMA. Some readers may be put off by a overall feeling when reading of being neither here nor there in respect to the subject matter in the end it does has a good balance of past and present while giving detail at times and a general feel in others that make for a quick read.
The author does a particularly good job detailing the dark period in the UFC that covered the era that they were off of PPV, which coincided with the rise of Miletich. The UFC put its first show on when I was in college and I followed the company but lost interest for a while when the sport was off of PPV, so the book was a good primer on that time period and the role that Miletich played. Werthheim also points to the often Helter Skelter nature of the company during the Meyrowitz era. One particular funny passage notes that venues in two different states would be booked for the same PPV card in case regulators looked to pull the plug at the last moment, with jets at the ready to take the movable feast of violence from one market to the other.
In telling the Miletich end of the story we get to look at those that have weaved in and out of his sphere, from fighters to managers to fight promotions. The Godfather of MMA Monte Cox gets his own chapter, and the telling of his story seems like it could yield a book of its own. From a business perspective, Wertheim does a quick summary of how Monte went from sportswriter to MMA power broker, working all levels of the MMA game in his rise to prominence. The author raises the specter of conflict of interest, but shrugs it in light of Monte’s opened ended deals with his fighters. The book looks at his vast collection of fight cards from the bar scene to the arenas, his juggling of fighters, and a work day that seems to never end. As I said Monte could yield a book of his own but maybe we can see that in the future, once he has stepped away from the sport.
Wertheim is a bit new to the sport and he clearly loves it, but along with that he has a sense of detachment that helps give him a perspective that is even handed and fair. He doesn’t carry the baggage of those that followed the sport pre-Zuffa but he also doesn’t turn a blind eye to questions that should be asked. He summed this up succinctly in this passage: “The Phoenix-like revival of the UFC is a tremendous business success story and love him or hate him, there’s no denying White led the resurgence. By the same token, in the course of researching this book, I was often left thinking:can an organism continue to grow if it doesn’t always expose itself to the light?” Much of the latter day stuff in the book is in this vein, cutting to the core with both the good and the bad, but overall I would say Wertheim has a net positive view of the UFC/ Zuffa edifice, a view that isn’t without merit. Overall, I’d recommend the book to MMAPayout’s readers.
Blood in the Cage: Mixed Martial Arts, Pat Miletich, and the Furious Rise of the UFC can be purchased through Amazon.com or at your local bookstore available beginning January 15, 2009
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